I thought that spacewalks were cool, as long as you have the necessary equipment and knowledge. This one would have been fun, if not for the fact that we had nowhere to return to, as our spaceplane had been blown up by a missile. Moreover, the Perseids escaped again and we don't have a single prisoner.
On the other hand, it could have been worse. We could have died from the explosion and I was honestly baffled by the fact that I was still alive. Floating in zero gravity was a very weird sensation, like swimming without any water. I was in shock, overwhelmed by the events of the last few minutes, so I just drifted for a bit, without doing anything. The prospect of suffocating or freezing to death in the cold void was a grim one, so I decided to do everything I could to prevent it from happening.
The first thing I did was turning around to see if my friends were dead or not. As it turned out, we've been yeeted in different directions, each of us drifting further and further away from the spaceplane, or whatever was left of it. In that case, not much.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8MVzH7d7Kl
I saw a burnt remnant of the cockpit, the edge of the a wing and a weird mechanism which presumably belonged to the giant laser blaster. Everything else was either instantly vaporized or blasted far away from the wreck.
Oh, my friends were there too, living.
Arika was nearby, which made sense, considering how she jumped out right before me. Amber and Sebastian were further away. I didn't see Claudius, which was mildly concerning to say the least. Arika clicked something on her helmet and I soon heard her voice through my radio.
- Hello, hello? Is anyone alive? - she asked.
- I am... for now... - I replied.
- I guess I'm alive? Unless this is what hell looks like... - Sebastian sighed.
- I seem to have survived - Amber added.
Claudius didn't reply, fueling our concern.
- What do we do now? And is Claudius dead? - I muttered.
- I can't answer any of these. I think we should get together, so that we won't float into the darkness alone - Arika was nervous, which was completely understandable. Our spacecraft was just blown up and our survival chances were extremely low, assuming that they were there in the first place.
There was a slight problem: controlling our movement was really hard. Most astronauts are strapped to their spacecraft, but in our case, attatchning ourselves to the spaceplane would have been a death sentence. So, we could only wiggle our legs and hands, trying to change direction. Until I remembered something.
Photons can propel things despite not having mass. I was holding a laser blaster. I fired, and the recoil pushed me away. However, this movement pattern was unpredictable, so I came up with a better idea.
Laser blasters can be charged up to speed up the pellet. Whilst charging, they emitted a dim red glow. I started charging my blaster. After a while, it started working and I felt a gentle push. I could still turn around, so pairing this with the charging gave me some control over my movement. Arika noticed what I was up to, but couldn't come to me, as she didn't have a blaster of her own. So, I flew over to her.
I caught her and we were now holding hands. Our flight looked like an orbital dance. However, we couldn't be in this state forever, as both of my hands had to be free in order to redirect us properly. Arika wrapped her arms around my chest and I took control again. I directed us to Amber and Sebastian, who soon gripped onto the laser blaster and we were now floating together.
- Feels weird, being so close together in such a horrible situation - Amber whispered to us.
- Sometimes, being in a horrible situation together is better than being in one all by yourself - Arika added.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH5vzk1dndN
We could fly in this clump for a while, if not for the fact that the charging was almost done.
- Arika, what's behind us? - I asked her.
- The ruined cockpit. Do you have a plan? - she asked back.
- The blaster is almost fully charge, so we won't be able to float like this much longer. I think we need to shoot ourselves into the cockpit for now - I explained.
- Fine, let's hope it will work - Arika held onto me even harder. The others strenghtened their grip on the laser blaster as it fired.
The fast pellet turned the small remains of the wing into dust as we were launched backwards. Suddenly, we smashed into the cockpit. I didn't feel the impact, as Arika cushioned me.
- Is everyone okay? - I questioned.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbmMKGC1LsQ
- Uhh, yes - Arika pulled away from me. I turned around as she looked at the control panels. Unfortunately for us, they were fried by the blast and nothing was working. Arika let out an exasperated sigh as she clicked a button with no response.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuBQW6SPcx5
- I hoped to send a message to the Pitstop Station so that they'll know we're alive, but I can't - she tried to sit down, as she was tired, just like us. However, as she moved, she almost floated out of the cockpit and I grabbed her again. We then gazed upon Sebastian.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3aWOlJJ7wm
- Why are you looking at me like that? - he seemed annoyed.
- You look angry. Is everything okay? - Amber asked empathically.
- Nothing is okay. Were stranded in outer space, Einstein and Nigel probably think were dead, and the Perseids got away scot free. If that monster didn't trick us into this whole chase, we'd have a shot at survival - as he said that, a tear flowed down his cheek. I realised that he meant Dawn and was promptly surprised by him calling his former crush like that.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡofYVbP0ySv
However, I did understand his reaction to a certain degree. I wasn't the best when it came to human relationships, but sensed that Sebastian felt really bad for falling in love with an enemy agent. It seemed like his anger and sadness merged into something strange. He was heartbroken, furious, unhappy and resentful at the same time.
- Maybe that satelite could help us? - Amber pointed at what seemed to be space junk, but upon closer inspection turned out to be a functional spacecraft.
New hope was awakened in everyone, myself included. If we could get our hands on the satelite, it would be possible to contact Einstein and Captain Nigel. They'd send a rescue mission and we'd be fine.
- Hold up, who is Einstein? - Arika was confused.
- He's our caretaker. His face resembles the head of Albert Einstein, so we jokingly nicknamed him Einstein. His real name is Edward - I informed her, as I was the one who originally came up with said nickname.
I began charging up my blaster and we huddled together again. With Arika wrapping her arms around me tightly again, it was a little awkward, but we had no choice. I jumped out of the cockpit with the others and began steering once more.
This time, Amber and Sebastian assisted me in reaching the satelite. The vessel was a golden box with two rectangular solar panels and a white antenna on top of the box. As we drifted closer, a panel was visible beneath the antenna. This was bad, as it meant prying it off, which could end in one of us floating away.
Without any other options for return, we decided to perform a risky maneuver. I rotated around and held onto Arika, just like she was now. Amber and Sebastian would anchor us to the satelite by holding it while Arika prepares her oxygen tank. Then, we flip around and Arika smashes the panel off with the tank to dig into the guts of the satelite to find a way to transmit a message.
As I spun, I faced Arika for a bit, which made the whole situation even more awkward. As the others grabbed the satelite, we had to rotate by 180 degrees so that Arika would face the craft. To do this, we had to hold onto each other very tightly, somewhat resembling a hug. Fortunately for our sanity, this moment didn't last long and Arika swung her tank. The panel was pretty weak and clipped off the satelite with a visible dent. Sebastian used the blaster to bring us closer to the spacecraft as Arika reached into it.
- I think this might work, hold on - she muttered while digging through the vessel. Finally, I heard a metallic click. We then aimed the satelite at the Pitstop Station, using the Hyperspace as a landmark.
I prayed in my head for this to work, as it was all we had left.
- Hold up - Amber started - What do we do when we wait for the rescue mission?
- Umm... - Sebastian was dumbfounded, and so were we. We didn't take the wait into account.
- I guess we hold onto the satelite and.. talk or something? - I replied.
- Hopefully they'll come here quickly, because it won't be long before our oxygen runs out - Arika sighed once more.
Amber was extremely tired and let go of the satelite. Sebastian was also worn out, so he passed the blaster to Arika, who gave it to me.
- Use it wisely, navigator - she grinned slightly. I aimed the blaster into the vacuum of space and we drifted back to the satelite. Then, we heard a voice. A voice we really wanted to hear.
- Children, is that you? - Einstein asked with a lot of concern in his voice. We managed to connect with him and we were all smiling as we we responded with "Yes, we're alive!".
- That's great! - Einstein cried out in joy as his stress turned into tears - I'm so happy that you're here! We thought those pesky Perseids finished you off!
- You are very irresponsible - we also heard Captain Nigel - I mean all six of you. You should have given up on that chase! You weren't even authorised to pilot a spaceplane! This is ridiculous!!! - Nigel was outraged. This was pretty normal for him, as he was always angry, upset or his tone was so cold that you couldn't tell. He was furious even in such joyful situations.
- Wait, where's Claudius? - Einstein asked, temporarily ignoring Nigel.
- We have no idea - Arika reply, but Sebastian muttered in exhaustion "He's probably dead...".
- I do! - Amber suddenly exclaimed - He's over there! - she pointed to a scrap. He was desperately clinging onto it.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEVF3650zkR
In an instant, I aimed my blaster and fired another energized pellet, which zoomed right beneath the satelite. We flew over to Claudius and Amber touched him. He was unconscious, but alive as his heart was still beating. However, he was barely breathing.
- Help... me... - he mouthed.
Amber held onto him as I directed us back to the tiny satelite.
- He's barely alive, we found him! - Sebastian told the adults.
- Good, hang on for a few more minutes. A shuttle is coming, you should soon see it - Einstein breathed a sigh of relief.
- Short Time Skip - 21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVlk2lvTSW6
The space shuttle was now getting very close. We let go of the satelite. I managed to redirect us to the shuttle's hatch, but we were going slowly as the blaster ran out of power. I threw it away and held hands with Arika. Sebastian and Amber were drifting with Claudius, making sure that he'd survive the trip.
Knowing that we will survive, the short flight was pure bliss. The countless stars were no longer frightening, the remnants of the spaceplane were no longer visible. I don't know why, but we were spinning around. Because of this, Arika was facing me again, but this time, she was smiling. I was too, because the flight was enjoyable.
It came to an end as we set foot in the shuttle. We were safe at last.
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and then Add to home screen.